With the ongoing war of words amongst gamers as to which console is the best and why, I have often wondered where and how it all begins. If you look at the systems from an analytical standpoint it is usually clear that one is more powerful than another, one has more features, one may have better exclusives and so on.
Now I admit some differences may be minor in the bigger picture but yet this does not stop gamers from being ready to fight to defend their system of choice against any perceived slight.
Brand loyalty is a big part of this as many fans of Sony or Microsoft have carried this over to the new systems and defend them come hell or high water. Case in point, mention any differences in graphics between the PS4 and the Xbox One and you will often have people saying that it is not true or that it does not make that much of a difference. Lately it has been “well when DirectX 12 and Windows 10 are released you will be left in the dust” or some variation of this.
Passions aside as let’s face it, there are those who would argue the sun is blue even though they know better rather than admit they are wrong. You also have the gambler mentality of those who picked or backed the wrong team or horse but will continue to lay money down on it to justify their faith rather than admit that there are other good options to consider as well.
In the day and age of the net you can often find other sources to back your viewpoints which makes it difficult to support or defend your point of view if yours differs from the masses. While the PS4 has had the edge in graphics on some third party games such as the Call of Duty games, supporters will say that the data is wrong, it is not that big of a difference, or that it still looks good.
PS4 fans on the other hand will use the differences to point out why they believe that their system of choice is superior and the best option.
I see it as a combination of people being loyal to their brand, wanting to support their investment, and yes, some who are simply looking for a fight and not willing to look at the bad points of their system. The same people are often ones who do not take any form of criticism well.
Tech specs aside, fun is the main factor as nobody was buying the Wii for the graphics, they were buying it for the fun games and the motion control features.
With E3 on the horizon the presentations from Sony and Microsoft will be heavily debated but one this is clear, fan loyalty will keep the console wars going along and make for some passionate debates.
